6.1 Physical Health

Academic success is closely tied to overall well-being. When students take care of themselves in a holistic way, they are more focused, resilient, and prepared to learn. The concept of the Dimensions of Wellness⁵—emotional, physical, social, intellectual, spiritual, environmental, financial, and occupational—offers a framework for understanding how different areas of life influence one another. These dimensions are interconnected, and can affect performance in others, including academic work. For example, financial stress may impact concentration, while strong social support can boost motivation and persistence. By exploring each dimension, students can recognize how wellness directly influences their academic journey and learn strategies to create balance that supports personal growth and educational achievement.

Physical Wellness

Physical wellness, as defined by Boise State’s Wellness Services⁵ states that you engage in increasing activity levels according to your abilities, getting restful sleep at night, choosing healthy and balanced foods, and exploring ways to reduce stress and increase energy levels. Consider how often you experience the following:

• I generally eat a variety of foods.
• I exercise at least three times a week.
• I am generally free from illness.
• I have annual check-ups and specific medical checks as prescribed.
• I use alcohol or prescribed drugs responsibly and moderately, or not at all.

Many students have goals that are related to their physical wellness. These can include sleeping more, eliminating junk food, integrating more exercise or finding ways to reduce stress and anxiety. College offers many temptations for students trying to create or maintain healthy eating habits. You may be on your own for the first time, and you’re free to eat whatever you want, whenever you want. All-you-can-eat dining facilities, vending machines, and easy access to food twenty-four hours a day make it tempting to choose foods that are calorie-dense but not nutrient-dense. You may not be in the habit of shopping or cooking for yourself yet, and when you find yourself short on time or money, it may seem easier to fuel yourself on sugary, caffeinated drinks and meals at the nearest fast-food place. Additionally, your exercise routine might not be as structured or active as in the past.

On top of that, it’s common for one’s eating habits to change when you  feel anxious, lonely, sad, stressed, or bored, and college students are no exception. It’s incredibly important, though, to develop healthy ways of coping and relaxing that don’t involve reaching for food, drink, or other substances. It’s also important to eat regular healthy meals to keep up your energy.

Having a healthy diet means making food choices that contribute to short- and long-term health. The right mix can help you be healthier now and in the future. Developing healthy eating habits doesn’t require you to sign up for a gimmicky health-food diet or lifestyle: you don’t have to become vegan, gluten-free, paleo, or go on regular juice fasts. The simplest way to create a healthy eating style is by learning to make wise food choices that you can enjoy, one small step at a time. See the MyPlate website for more guidelines.

USDA Healthy Eating Guidelines

Make half your plate fruits and vegetables:

• Choose whole fruits—fresh, frozen, dried, or canned in 100% juice.
• Enjoy fruit with meals, as snacks, or for a dessert.
• Try adding fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables to salads, side dishes, and recipes.
• Choose a variety of colorful veggies prepared in healthful ways: steamed, sautéed, roasted, or raw.

Make half your grains whole grains:

• Look for whole grains listed first or second on the ingredients list—try oatmeal, popcorn, whole-grain bread, and brown rice.
• Limit grain desserts and snacks, such as cakes, cookies, and pastries.

Vary your protein routine:

• Mix up your protein foods to include a variety—seafood, beans and peas, unsalted nuts and seeds, soy products, eggs, and lean meats and poultry.
• Try main dishes made with beans and seafood, like tuna salad or bean chili.

Consider eating nutrient-dense dairy products:

• Milk, yogurt, and cheese can be good sources of protein and are packed with vitamins and minerals.
• Focus on consuming dairy that is high in nutrients and low in fat like Greek yogurt, whey protein, and cottage cheese.

Drink and eat fewer ultra processed foods:

• Convenience foods like fast-food, frozen and boxed meals, and other ready-to-eat foods are packed with calories, sodium, sugar, and saturated fats. Swapping these with homemade meals and whole foods will increase your nutrient intake.
• Consider keeping nutrient-dense and convenient foods on hand such as string cheese, peanut butter, trail mix, hummus, or hard boiled eggs.
• Drink water instead of sugary or highly caffeinated drinks.

Regular Exercise: Health for Life

The importance of getting regular exercise is probably nothing new to you. The health benefits are well known: regular physical activity can produce long-term health benefits by reducing your risk of many health problems, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and it can also increase your chances of living longer, help you control your weight, and even help you sleep better.

As a busy college student, you may be thinking, I know this, but I don’t have time! I have classes and work and a full life! What you may not know is that—precisely because you have such a demanding, possibly stressful schedule—now is the perfect time to make exercise a regular part of your life. Getting into an effective exercise routine now will not only make it easier to build healthy habits that you can take with you into your life after college, but it can actually help you be a more successful student, too. As you’ll see in the section on brain health below, exercise is a powerful tool for improving one’s mental health and memory—both of which are especially important when you’re in school.

The good news is that most people can improve their health and quality of life through a modest increase in daily activity. You don’t have to join a gym, spend a lot of money, or even do the same activity every time—just going for a walk or choosing to take the stairs (instead of the elevator) can make a difference. The following video describes how much activity you need.

In addition to keeping your heart healthy and helping you live longer, regular exercise can also improve your mood and help keep depression and anxiety at bay.

Exercise has many physical and mental benefits in addition to lowering stress. Regular physical activity is one of the best things you can do to be healthy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, its benefits include: controlling weight, reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, reducing risk for type two diabetes, reducing risk of cancer, strengthening bones and muscles, improving mental health and mood, increasing chances of living longer.

The Benefits of Sleep

We have so many demands on our time—school, jobs, family, errands, not to mention finding some time to relax. To fit everything in, we often sacrifice sleep. But sleep affects both mental and physical health. Like exercise and a healthy diet, it’s vital to your well-being.

Of course, sleep helps you feel rested each day. But while you’re sleeping, your brain and body don’t just shut down. Internal organs and processes are hard at work throughout the night. Sleep can help you “lock in” everything you’re studying and trying to remember.

“Sleep services all aspects of our body in one way or another: molecular, energy balance, as well as intellectual function, alertness and mood,” says Dr. Merrill Mitler, a sleep expert and neuroscientist at the National Institute of Health (NIH).

When you’re tired, you can’t function at your best. Sleep helps you think more clearly, have quicker reflexes, and focus better. “The fact is, when we look at well-rested people, they’re operating at a different level than people trying to get by on one or two hours less nightly sleep,” says Mitler.

“Loss of sleep impairs your higher levels of reasoning, problem-solving, and attention to detail,” Mitler explains. Tired people tend to be less productive at work and school. They’re at a much higher risk for traffic accidents. Lack of sleep also influences your mood, which can affect how you interact with others. A sleep deficit over time can even put you at greater risk for developing depression.

But sleep isn’t just essential for the brain. “Sleep affects almost every tissue in our bodies,” says Dr. Michael Twery, a sleep expert at NIH. “It affects growth and stress hormones, our immune system, appetite, breathing, blood pressure and cardiovascular health.”

A good night’s sleep consists of four to five sleep cycles. Each cycle includes periods of deep sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, when we dream. “As the night goes on, the portion of that cycle that is in REM sleep increases. It turns out that this pattern of cycling and progression is critical to the biology of sleep,” Twery says.

Sleep can be disrupted by many things. Stimulants such as caffeine or certain medications can keep you up. Distractions such as electronics—especially the light from TVs, cell phones, tablets and e-readers—can prevent you from falling asleep.

How Much Sleep Do We Need?

The amount of sleep a person needs depends on many factors For most adults, seven to eight hours a night is an optimal amount of sleep. The amount of sleep a person needs also increases if he or she has been deprived of sleep in previous days. Getting too little sleep creates a “sleep debt,” which is a lot like being overdrawn at a bank. Eventually, your body will demand that the debt be repaid. We don’t seem to adapt to getting less sleep than we need; while we may get used to a sleep-depriving schedule, our judgment, reaction time, and other functions are still impaired. As a student, that means sleep-deprivation may prevent you from studying, learning, and performing as well as you can.

Experts say that if you feel drowsy during the day, even during boring activities, you haven’t had enough sleep. If you routinely fall asleep within five minutes of lying down, you probably have severe sleep deprivation, possibly even a sleep disorder. “Microsleeps,” or very brief episodes of sleep in an otherwise awake person, are another mark of sleep deprivation. In many cases, people are not aware that they are experiencing microsleeps. The widespread practice of “burning the candle at both ends” has created so much sleep deprivation that what is really abnormal sleepiness is now almost the norm.

Falling Asleep and Getting a Good Night’s Rest

Many people, especially those who feel stressed, anxious, or overworked, have a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep, and this can shorten the amount of time and the quality of sleep when it actually comes. One of the most important ways to improve sleep is by sticking to a schedule, going to bed at a set time each night and getting up at the same time each morning. Disrupting this schedule may lead to insomnia. Sleeping in on weekends also makes it harder to wake up early on Monday morning because it resets your sleep cycles for a later wakening. Creating a wind down routine can help with developing this sleep schedule. You can train yourself to associate certain restful activities with sleep and make them part of your bedtime ritual. A warm bath, reading, or another relaxing routine can make it easier to fall asleep. It’s a good idea to put away homework, and screens (computer and phone) at least 30 minutes before bed. 

If you can’t get to sleep, or wake up in the middle of the night and cannot fall back asleep, don’t just lie in bed. Do something else, like reading or listening to music, until you feel tired. Avoid digital screens, though. Watching TV and being on the computer or your phone are too stimulating and will actually make you more awake. The anxiety of being unable to fall asleep can actually contribute to insomnia, so return to your wind down routine to relax and get back to sleep.

The optimal sleeping environment that is dark, cool, and quiet⁴. Sunlight helps the body’s internal biological clock reset itself each day. Watching TV or looking at your phone can trick your body into thinking you should be awake. Having blackout shades or wearing an eye mask can help signal to our bodies it’s time to sleep. Sleeping in room that is a comfortable temperature, with earplugs or a whiten noise machine, and turning your phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ can also help with falling and staying asleep.

Daily exercise often helps people sleep. For maximum benefit, try to get your exercise about 5 to 6 hours before going to bed. Avoid drinks that contain caffeine, which acts as a stimulant and keeps people awake. Sources of caffeine include coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, and non-herbal teas. Alcohol is thought to help people sleep since it acts as a depressant. In reality, alcohol robs people of deep sleep and REM sleep and keeps them in the lighter stages of sleep.

If you have trouble falling asleep night after night despite optimizing your sleep environment, or if you always feel tired, then you may have a sleep disorder and should see a physician. Your primary care physician may be able to help you. Most sleep disorders can be treated effectively, so you can finally get that good night’s sleep you need.

Improving Your Health Habits

One way to analyze your current nutrition and activity habits is to record all food and drinks consumed in one week, along with keeping records of how much exercise and how many hours of sleep take place. Think of it as an opportunity to see what you actually put into your body, how much exercise and rest you give it. The results may highlight areas of improvement that will in turn support your academic success.

Our bodies are more prone to getting sick if they are not well taken care of. Getting sick in the middle of an academic term can have devastating effects on academic performance. Prioritizing your health on a routine basis is critical to ward off illness, maintain energy and focus, and feel your best.

Citations

1. Dillon, Dave. Blueprint for Success in College and Career. OER Commons. https://press.rebus.community/blueprint2/. CC BY 4.0
2. Sleep. Provided by: Lumen Learning. Located at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-collegesuccess-lumen1/chapter/sleep/  License: CC BY: Attribution
3. College Success. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution
4. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (2021, October 12). Module 6: Improving your sleep and alertness (Training for nurses on shift work & long work hours). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved September 3, 2025, from https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/work-hour-training-for-nurses/longhours/mod6/01.html
5. Wellness Services, Boise State University. (n.d.). 8 Dimensions of Wellness. Boise State University. Retrieved September 3, 2025, from https://www.boisestate.edu/wellness/dimensions/